Starmer promises funding will meet plan for ‘battle-ready, armour-clad’ UK

The UK will move to “war-fighting readiness”, Sir Keir Starmer said as questions remained about his plans to increase defence spending.

The Prime Minister said he was “100% confident” the plans in the new strategic defence review – including extra attack submarines, £15 billion on nuclear warheads and thousands of new long-range weapons – could be delivered on current funding plans.

The Government will increase defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product from April 2027 with an ambition – but no firm commitment – to increase it to 3% during the next parliament.

The Prime Minister said all parts of society needed to be involved in dealing with an increasingly dangerous world.

He said the plan would create “a battle-ready, armour-clad nation with the strongest alliances, and the most advanced capabilities, equipped for the decades to come”.

Launching the review in the shadow of Type 26 frigates being built in BAE Systems’ shipyard in Govan, Glasgow, Sir Keir said “three fundamental changes” would be made to the UK’s defence.

“First, we are moving to war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our armed forces.

“When we are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, the most effective way to deter them is to be ready, and frankly, to show them that we’re ready to deliver peace through strength.”

The second change is that the Government will adopt a “Nato-first” stance towards defence so that everything it does adds to the strength of the alliance.

Sir Keir added: “Third, we will innovate and accelerate innovation at a wartime pace, so we can meet the threats of today and of tomorrow, as the fastest innovator in Nato.”

The Government has accepted all 62 recommendations in the review, which will see:

– Up to 12 attack submarines built for the Royal Navy as part of the Australia-UK-US Aukus.

– The procurement of up to 7,000 long-range weapons built in the UK.

– The opening of at least six new munitions factories.

– Setting up a new cyber command and investing £1 billion in digital capabilities

– More than £1.5 billion of additional funding to repair and renew armed forces housing.

The Prime Minister said he wanted to “mobilise the nation in a common cause, recognising in these dangerous times that when it comes to defence of the realm and the defence of everything that we hold dear, nothing works unless we all work together”.

The Government has highlighted the “defence dividend” of the extra billions being spent, with claims that “30,000 highly-skilled jobs” will be supported by the measures.

Sir Keir said the shift in the approach to defence would bind together military personnel with civilians in arms factories and tech experts.

“Every part of society, every citizen of this country, has a role to play because we have to recognise that things have changed,” he said.

“In the world of today, the front line, if you like, is here.”

Insisting that the plans could be funded within the 2.5% commitment, he said: “I’m 100% confident that this can be delivered because that was baked in from the very start of the review as one of the first conversations we had with the reviewers.

“Because what I wanted was to meet the new threats, the new instability, with a plan that matched our capability with the risk that we face as a nation.”

US President Donald Trump has been pushing for European countries to dramatically increase their defence spending rather than relying on Washington to subsidise the cost of their security.

He has called for a 5% spending target, while Nato general secretary Mark Rutte has reportedly asked for members to spend 3.5% on their militaries by 2032 with a further 1.5% on defence-related projects.

The Conservatives and Lib Dems have questioned Labour’s commitment to funding the promises it was making.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge suggested his opposite number John Healey had been “hung out to dry by Rachel Reeves” over the 3% target.

“All of Labour’s strategic defence review promises will be taken with a pinch of salt unless they can show there will actually be enough money to pay for them,” he added.

Lib Dem defence spokesperson Helen Maguire said the timeline for the commitment “suggests a worrying lack of urgency from the Government”.

She also said: “Unless Labour commits to holding cross-party talks on how to reach 3% much more rapidly than the mid-2030s, this announcement risks becoming a damp squib.”

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice said: “The commitments made in this defence review are completely empty if Labour does not commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence.”